Unworthy
by GreenFairy1987
Summary: After falling to Earth, a deal is struck between Jane and Loki to get Thor back to her. Loki is still struggling with his identity, and a young intern might be the only one who can get through to him. There just might be a spark between them, but it can be hard to form a bond when cosmic cubes, wormholes, and monsters are involved. Post Thor, written before The Avengers. Please R/R
1. The God Who Fell to Earth

Unworthy

Author's notes: I got inspired to write this at first thinking about a couple of things: First, I pondered what would happen if Loki were to ever interact with Darcy, since I definitely sense a spark in both of them that craves being a bit of a smart-ass, and both have gifts that largely go unrecognized. (Darcy doesn't know much about astrophysics, but she sure can make a mean fake ID.) Secondly, the more I thought about their similarities, the more I saw them as counterparts to Thor/Jane. Whereas the former couple is like the captain of the football team and Homecoming Queen, Loki and Darcy would be the members of the fantasy literature and A/V club. So in summary, this story's how I'd see them coming together, and how they draw strength from the other. No OCs here, everything's owned by Marvel, you know the gist. Enjoy!

"No, Loki."

There was no one better than the black-haired god who knew just how powerful words could be.

It was true that actions spoke louder than words, yet words could act as a weapon as harmful as any blow. They could disguise the truth, or reveal it. They could restore hope, or they could shatter it. And with just two words, Loki was convinced he had nothing to return to, and silently said good-bye to everyone and everything he had ever known. As he let go, darkness enveloped him with a deafening roar. All he could do now was think about why this was happening.

_Has my fate always been to suffer?_ He mused. _How could it be from the very beginning I was shunned? _He thought of Odin's explanation for how he found him and struggled to search for logic he knew was missing.

_If I really was left to die, then I must have had no value to the Jotun. And if that were true, why then, would they accept me as their king if I was of no use to them in the first place? And even if I was accepted, Thor would have been made king of a world that had always loved him, and I would be made king of a race I knew only from stories told to me as a child where they were always described as savage. How could the All-Father possibly think that would work? How could there possibly be peace through me? Unless.._.

Something snapped in his mind, and all the pieces of the puzzle that had come together instantly shattered.

_This whole time he was grooming me to look down on my own kind. My only purpose was to be the ruler of Jotenheim who always had allegiance to Asgard._

He thought he would go mad from laughing so hard.

_Now I know why so many have called me a puppet master. It was because I learned from the best of them all._

His laughter was interrupted by a sudden surge of pain that shot through him. It intensified as he could feel himself falling at a faster and faster rate. It was as if every cell in his body was being ripped away from him.

_So this is how I'm to die. So be it. The only question I have left is why after everything I did to Thor, he still showed grief upon seeing me go._

Then his consciousness dissolved, and all was still.


	2. Strange New World

First of all, a huge thanks to all of you who have followed this story. I am so grateful to all of you! Secondly, now that classes are over, expect faster updates.

Chapter 2

Darcy Lewis was very thankful her assistance was needed at headquarters and not outside. Not that she wasn't entertained by hearing Jane discuss all her theories as to why it was taking her new boyfriend so long to come back, but she savored the times when she didn't have to spend late nights driving around in a van solving mysteries, in this case the Mystery of the Missing Viking from Outer Space. She grinned at the thought of her life starting to resemble a Hana-Barbera cartoon.

Several hours earlier, Jane had detected a unusual formation up above. What started as a tiny dot piercing the sky was now growing into a hole that resembled a wound on the night itself. Jane concluded this meant two things: One, a wormhole had formed, and two, Thor was about to return. His name was spoken so passionately by her, as if by merely saying it she was given new motivation to continue with her work.

And now Jane had driven off with Erik to investigate the strange happenings, leaving Darcy behind. They said they needed someone to be on the lookout and warn them in case SHIELD dropped by again and tried "appropriating" any new discoveries or attempted to censor anything they deemed would give the public too much information about the secrets of the universe. Personally, Darcy thought Jane and Erik didn't want her to come because they didn't want a repeat of the taser incident.

Not that she was upset about being left behind. Indeed, this was the first time Darcy had the entire headquarters to herself and she quite liked the idea of using this free time hacking into the computers so she could make some illegal downloads. She never did get to finish _Firefly._..

As Loki's senses returned to him, he felt the ground he had landed on. Cold. Coarse. Dry. He turned his head to the night sky and saw a giant opening in it that began to recede. He felt weak, and there was a throbbing in his head, but other than that his condition was surprisingly stable. _Where am I? How much time has passed since the fall?_ He slowly began to sit up. _Not that it even matters at this point. I'll only be an outcast on this new world. Just like all the others._

"Erik, I'm sure of this. That thing up ahead's a wormhole, it's been getting wider in the past few hours, and I'll be damned if something or someone doesn't fall out of it," said Jane as she tightened her grip on the van's steering wheel.

If she had a passion for studying the stars in the past, it was now full-on obsession. The past couple of weeks had transformed her from a no-nonsense researcher into a little girl demanding to open a Christmas present.

Erik had tried his best to remain composed these past few weeks. He thought that with the increasing amount of days gone by Jane's interest in Thor would wane until she would realize it was just a passing crush she had, no more than a girl realizing her dream boy had much more important things to look after than her. On the contrary, Jane's determination to have Thor back had grown threefold. Erik would occasionally tell her that it would be best if she didn't have such high hopes, that perhaps there was trouble in the Nine Realms that required the god's attention. In truth, he didn't want to see her hurt. It was bad enough seeing her recover from Donald Blake. That was Jane's biggest strength and weakness: She had as much emotional investment in people as she did her work, and it usually led to disappointing results.

"All I'm saying is that the coordinates are different than last time," he said, squinting out the window, trying to make sense of the whole across the horizon. "The size, the shape-if it's really him, he's chosen an entirely new method of transportation."

Jane wasn't listening. All she could think about right now was being re-introduced to Thor's touch.

As Loki found enough strength to stand up, he saw two lights pierce the darkness and grow in size. They were headed straight at him. He had no idea if it was a beast, a machine, or something else entirely, but he had no intention of finding out. _If I'm going to die in this strange world, it'll be on my own terms, and not through a random appearance._ He focused all his remaining energy on finding a place, any place where he could be relatively safe.

And with that, he disappeared, giving the two people in the van in front of him quite a jolt.

Up ahead, Jane saw a tall, shadowed figure. "Erik, I knew it! Do you see? Do you see him?" She was practically jumping in her seat at this point. She pressed down on the accelerator, trying to get to her love faster but at the same time hoping to avoid a hit-and-run like last time.

She saw the figure start to appear more clearly in the headlights-

-only to disappear in an instant.

She slammed on the break.

" -The hell?" she gasped.

"What was that?" asked Erik.

Jane immediately parked the van and rushed out, making certain there weren't any traces left. "No, no no no no, don't do this to me, not now." she muttered as she moved her flashlight in all directions.

Erik walked behind her.

"Jane, whatever that was, it's gone now."

"But how did this happen?" she said, exasperated. "Erik, you were _right_ there with me, you _saw_ someone in front of the vehicle, right?"

"Of course I did, but it was only for a split second."

Jane looked up to the sky and then back down. "Well, this is just fantastic. Coming all the way out here for noth-"

Her phone's ringtone cut her off.

"Hello?"

The message was brief, but it told her everything she wanted to hear. Jane rushed back in the van and turned to Selvig with a triumphant smile. "We're going back to headquarters. Darcy said he came back."


	3. A Deal Struck

Author's note: A massive thank you to those who've put this on their story alert, and your reviews keep me continuing this. Hopefully this and upcoming chapters will live up to your expectations :)

Darcy was just starting to get immersed in the world of Serenity when a thud emitted from outside the lab. She had no idea what could have made that sound, but whatever it was, it didn't seem like anything good. She walked over to a nearby cabinet and got out a flashlight. _This better not be a reaver,_ she thought as she stuffed her taser into her purse.

Darcy opened the door, peering straight ahead and then side to side. There was no one around for miles. It was so late everyone in town was most likely asleep.

It was when she took her first step outside that she felt her foot hit something. She lowered the flashlight and let out a tiny gasp. If this were a few weeks ago, she would have assumed she'd find a dog instead of a man at her feet, but by now she was quite used to the notion of strange men materializing out of the blue.

The first thing Darcy noticed was his clothing, which was a dead-giveaway he wasn't from around here. There was no one in New Mexico who wore that much leather and metal, at least not outside the LARP community.

Several tears and cuts in the folds of his coat suggested he was attacked or in a fight. She moved her flashlight upwards to see a pale face turned to a strong profile, one that reminded her of old paintings of aristocrats that were in her history books. _My God, he could slice bread with those cheekbones_. She nudged him, only getting a soft grunt in response. Gingerly, she scooped him up from his underarms into the building.

With a couch nowhere inside, she lifted him onto a table and checked to see if there were any wounds that needed tending to.

As she touched his forehead, his eyes opened and he began to sit up. "Who are you? How did you find me?" he asked groggily as he turned to her.

"My name's Darcy. I found you outside headquarters. You're in the place where I work as an intern. My boss and her colleague should be here soon." She gestured with her eyes looking up. "I can safely presume you're from Asgard?" He nodded, surprised she knew of the world so many mortals had now forgotten."I've met someone from the same place," she said. "Maybe you know him? His name's Thor?"

Loki's eyes widened. _This was the place he was banished to? The same place I sent the Destroyer? If Thor hadn't gotten his powers restored..._

"Oh, so you do know him! Have you seen Myeh-Myeh, to?"

"You must mean Mjolnir," he said. "Yes, I've seen it quite recently."

"I have to warn you, my boss is going to be super-mad that you didn't bring a six-foot blonde with you."

"Sorry to disappoint," he said dryly.

Darcy just remembered she had no idea who she was talking to. "By the way, I never did get your name."

"It's Loki."

Loki...she knew she had seen that name before. In the book Selvig showed her and Jane on the Norse gods...yes, he was the trickster god, listed as Thor's-

He was the one who almost killed him. Almost killed everyone.

Her expression dropped.

"Hold on, let me get my taser."

Loki had no idea what a taser did, but knew it wouldn't be to his benefit. He got up off the table and grabbed her arm, only for her to throw it off.

"It was you! You were the one who almost destroyed the whole town! What the hell is your problem?"

There was no point in trying to argue with her. She knew who he was and what he'd done. She would be the morally superior one here no matter what. He decided to tell her the thing she would expect least of him: the truth.

"I have many problems," he said simply, "One of them causing me to lose myself and awaken a part of me I wish never existed."

She was expecting an answer more akin to a villain on a Saturday morning cartoon show, something a bit more maniacal and arrogant. Certainly not something said so straight-forward with an air of regret.

"And what part would that be?" she asked, suddenly very curious of this most peculiar man.

"My, you're an inquisitive girl. Most would have had me restrained and taken to a cell by now."

She shrugged. "I study political science. Finding out why figures in power do terrible things is kind of what I do."

"So you're not going to-what was it? Use the taser on me?"

Darcy played with it in her hands, flexing her fingers while looking at it and back to him.

"Only if you give me a reason to."

Darcy took out a phone from her purse. She smiled to herself as she noticed out of the corner of her eye Loki stared at it as if it were a rare gem. She dialed the numbers and waited for the other end to pick up.

"Jane? It's Darcy. You and Dr. Selvig might want to come back. Someone just crash-landed on planet Earth."

Far off in the middle of the desert, Jane's heart skipped a beat.

"Don't move," she said, already walking over to the van. "We're headed there immediately."

"Jane-Jane, it's not who you think it is! Jane!"

But she had already hung up.

Darcy blew a stray wave of hair away from her face. "Well, this going to be awkward. She expects a Golden Retriever and instead will get a pissy black cat."

Loki shot her a look. As new as this world and its customs was to him, he knew the word "pissy" was meant to be taken as a derogatory.

"So why did you do it?" she asked with arms folded across her chest.

"An act of desperation, I suppose," he said, staring at his hands. "A last attempt to make my existence mean something."

"But you're a prince like Thor, aren't you? Wouldn't that be enough to make you feel special?" she asked skeptically.

It would have been so simple to lie to her. He could make her believe anything about him, and yet he gave her nothing but honesty. Perhaps it was because he had such an urge to tell someone, anyone who would listen his thoughts that had been bottled up for so long. Yes, that had to be it. Whatever sanity remained in him would be gone if he had to conceal his feelings any longer.

"We were always different from each other, Thor and I. Because my strengths weren't the same as his, they were seen as weaknesses. Even when Father did look at me with pride every once in while, it was never in the same magnitude bestowed upon Thor. And so I wanted to prove myself worthy of the name Odinson by putting an end to the problems that had plagued Asgard for centuries, so that I would never be looked down on again."

"And the problems plaguing Asgard had to be remedied by you sending a killer robot down here?" asked Darcy sardonically.

"That...wasn't originally part of the plan," explained Loki, rather sheepishly. "I once had hope that by ensuring Thor could never return to Asgard, I would be remembered and he would be forgotten. You don't have to worry about that hope anymore."

"So this had nothing to do with you staying king?"

"No. The responsibility of the throne was never my concern. The only thing I longed for was to be held in the same esteem as Thor."

"Sounds like you were really desperate to be treated like the person you hated."

Loki blinked."Hated?"

"Yeah, how else can I interpret your feelings for your brother but you hated him? You were jealous of him, and wanted him dead, or at least those are the vibes I'm getting from you at the moment."

Her words struck him. Did he really desire Thor killed? He couldn't imagine a world without him. No, what he wanted was to send him a message: he was never meant to live alongside him. He was of the same ilk Thor would have gladly slaughtered, and Loki cursed the memories he had of ever thinking he could be more than a failed experiment in diplomacy.

"Thor's death on my request was something I never intended. If you don't believe anything else I say, at least know this. It seemed as if all I could do was make the wrong decisions ever since..."

"Ever since what?" asked Darcy, leaning in.

Loki stared at her intently. "I suppose it wouldn't make any difference if you knew Thor and I were never connected by blood. As soon as I was told that from the All-Father, everything and nothing made sense all at once."

Her eyes widened. "And Thor never knew about this?"

"Even now, I don't think he does."

"Looks like you could never show him how angry you were, so you had to express it in an indirect way, is that it?" Darcy offered.

Loki tilted his head. "Is mind-reading a power found in Midgard?"

She smiled and shrugged. "Studying psychology is part of my major. And I must say you've given me enough ideas to write about five different essays."

He seemed to have put her apprehensions about him at ease for now. Time to find out more about her.

"You now know where I'm from, but I have yet to learn the same from you."

He had manners, she gave him that.

"I come from Austin, Texas. It's a place east of here. I'm kind of used to weird people because of it. Right now I'm a student at Culver University, and you already know what I'm learning," she smiled to herself, recalling past memories. "My parents were terrified to see me go to college, especially one with a reputation like Culver ever since one of its faculty was last reported as having a severe multiple personality disorder. For a while I had to call them every night to let them know I hadn't been disintegrated or used as a test subject. They wanted to give me mace for nights I went out, but I insisted a taser would make me feel safer."

"That must truly be a weapon of great power then, to be stronger than a mace," observed Loki.

A sound came out of Darcy that was half-laugh, half-snort.

"Around here mace is very different than what you're used to."

"I feel like there are many things here that I won't be used to."

"Well, Thor managed here pretty well, and you seem to have keener senses," she flexed her grip on her taser. "Though I must say, back when I thought he was still a crazy homeless guy I felt a lot safer using this little guy on him."

Loki stared at her, then her tool, agape.

"You used that on him?"

"Yeah, so?" she smiling innocently.

"I saw him battle dark elves, and kill forest beasts barehanded, and he was taken down by you."

She propped a hand up on her hip. "Are you diminishing my capabilities?"

"No, it's just that I know now you're not a helpless damsel."

"And I know now that you're not a complete cartoon super villain," she then had to add, "But you are still an ass for almost killing everyone."

"Fair enough," said Loki, impressed at this girl's nerve.

Just then, the doors to the lab opened and in walked Jane and Erik. (Technically, Erik was the only one walking, Jane practically flew in by her legs at top speed.)

"We came as fast as we could," she panted, "Where is he?"

Darcy turned to them in her seat, biting her lip.

"Yeah, about that..."

Loki walked past her to face them. This must have been the woman that Thor fell for so hastily.

"May I present Loki, your boyfriend's younger brother?"

It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water onto Jane's head.

Erik and Darcy's presences were the only things that kept her from shouting a laundry list of profanities.

"How the hell did this happen?" she shouted, her fingernails digging into her fists.

"I found him outside the building, simple as that. He just popped in here like Nightcrawler." said Darcy.

"He fell right outside here? Why didn't he fall in the same area Thor did?"

"Perhaps if you took notice that I'm in the same room as you, you could ask me and find out," said Loki.

Jane walked over to him. "I'm Dr. Jane Foster, and you are going to answer a lot of questions I have and they had better involve bringing Thor back here."

He gave Jane a once-over. "So you're the one who's bewitched him. Fascinating how quickly he changed his ideals for you."

"And you're the one who would have killed us all," said Jane coldly. "There's an agency here called SHIELD. They specialize in defending this world from major threats. I could call them and say I have the man responsible for almost wiping this town from the map." She glared at him. "So give one reason why I shouldn't contact them right now."

_Think. Distract her. Tell her what she wants to hear._

"I'm the only one you will ever meet who knows how to get Thor back to you. Kill me, and you've ensured you'll never be reunited."

Jane tried not to let doubt show in her face. "He can use the Bifrost whenever he feels like it."

"Then why hasn't he returned yet?"

Jane's lips pursed.

He continued.

"It's because the Bifrost is shattered, and he's the one who made it so."

His words hit her straight in the gut.

She shook her head in disbelief. "No. No, he couldn't have. There's no way he would have destroyed the only way to get back here."

"Unless defeating me was more important to him than you."

Jane's eyes shot daggers at him. "You bastard."

Loki didn't let Jane know how much he resented that.

She pressed further. "There's more to it than that. What did you do to make him do that?"

_Persistent, she is._

"Had he not intervened, I would have destroyed the home of the frost giants, something Thor would have done earlier had he the chance. I thought by removing the greatest threat to Asgard, there would be peace."

He paused, smiling mirthlessly at the words he chose.

"In a way, that's exactly what happened. I was seen as the greatest threat to Asgard, and so I removed myself."

Darcy furrowed her brows. Even when upset, Thor had never acted this...bitter.

"I see. Thor made a promise to me, and because of you he had to break it."

"No. Because of me, he might be able to keep it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Though the Bifrost may be broken, there are other ways to travel between realms, as me being here proves. He doesn't know about them. I do."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. You have no idea if you should trust me or not, but you will, because your determination to be with Thor again is stronger than your stubbornness to not comply with me."

Jane's eyes narrowed.

Loki smiled with a hint of triumph. "I know how passionate you and him are for each other. You're not going to let this opportunity slip by just because you find me unsavory."

He knew he had her.

Jane wanted to punch the smugness off of him.

"Fine," she said. "You're going to help me find him. But you will be watched very, very closely and don't think for a moment I'll be fooled by anything you say. We'll start tomorrow."


	4. Land of Enchantment

Author's Note: So much thanks to everyone who's been following this story and demanding more. This chapter's been longer than what I usually post, and so this took more time to work on. Finally, the character interactions get to show here! And I've noticed some authors here have shown some songs that they play whenever they write, so here's just a few things I listen to to really get me in the writing mood: Vista Point from the Gothic 3 soundtrack. This has become my unofficial theme for Loki and Darcy. I always play this whenever I'm writing moments with romance potential, like the scene on the roof you're about to read :) Other songs include Fire and Ice by Within Temptation, If You Could Only See by Tonic (shut up, the 90s are very fond to me), When Things Explode by Unkle, and Please Don't Stop by Carina Round. And in case your'e wondering, I do have a legit ending planned; in fact there might even be a sequel if I can muster enough creative juice! But enough talk! To the fic!

It was decided that night Loki would join Darcy and Selvig in their makeshift sleeping quarters (cots folded out in the in the lab).

"So, Miss Lewis," said Loki as Darcy moved a small piece of equipment out of the way to make room for her sleeping space, "What made you become so interested in the science of politics?"

He was genuinely curious as there were no women he knew in Asgard who would speak their thoughts on the All-Father's ruling policies. Then again, there were no men who spoke of it either, as having the most powerful man in the kingdom for one's father ensured few would criticize his decision making while conversing.

"I like the psychology of it," said Darcy as she walked over to a closet to get bed sheets. "I like trying to find out if all instances of power have corruption as a consequence or if selflessness ever comes into focus."

"I doubt selflessness can ever exist alongside power," said Loki. "When Thor was given the most power he was at his most careless and arrogant."

"And when he had no power he cared enough about all of us to sacrifice himself, so you might have a point there," observed Darcy. She walked over to him holding the sheets, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Were you that way when you were given power over Asgard?"

"What do you mean?"

"Careless? Arrogant?" she pressed.

He knew she already held the answer.

"You're mocking me."

She smiled teasingly. "Oh, no. If I was mocking you, It'd sound like this," She whipped the sheet over her shoulders as an impromptu cloak. "I come from a land in a completely different solar system and yet I sound like I should be eating scones rehearsing _Hamlet_." Her attempt at an Asgardian accent came off like a twee Mary Poppins.

Loki scowled. "You think me a fool."

"No, I think mocking familiarizes things and makes them less intimidating."

"And I intimidate you."

"Well, seeing what you did to this town..." her voice trailed off as she spread the sheet across her cot.

She didn't need to say anything more. He was used to being ignored, or having his opinions dismissed or downgraded, but certainly not stirring fear into others. That was something monsters did. And if he could accomplish nothing else while on this new realm, it would be proving he was not a monster.

"I'll try not to." he said quietly.

Her expression softened. "Your efforts will be much appreciated."

Across the room, Selvig rolled his eyes at the fact that both women he worked with now knew the company of two deities, both extremely powerful and who could easily cause as much damage as a bomb, and yet acted as if they were the handsome new boys at high school. _Dear God,_ he thought, _It's like my colleagues think they're in Sweet Valhalla High._

Disappointment didn't even begin to describe Jane's feelings towards Loki being the one who had appeared and not Thor. Loki was instantly aware of this and knew she had a good reason to be upset, after all, he was the one responsible for Thor not staying on Midgard in the first place. Still, it didn't mean she had to act like his mere existence was a place where all cheeriness went to die. At least Sif and the Warriors Three held in the worst of their contempt for him when in the company of Thor out of courtesy; here Jane had nothing holding her back. He knew he would never convince her that he could be anything above a necessary evil, and so whenever he and Jane were in the same room together, they would stare at each other with the mutual expression that said, "Why haven't you fallen off a cliff yet?"

Selvig, on the other hand, took far more interest in him. Having been raised on the stories of Asgard, he had many preconceived notions about who Loki was and what he could do, and unlike with Thor who he had spent the majority of time convincing himself was just an ordinary man, he now knew that the person standing next to him was the same character he had once thought lived only in stories, like the Big Bad Wolf suddenly walking out of a Grimm's book. He would often ask Loki just how accurate the myths he was taught were, including many the god assured him were highly exaggerated at best and downright horrifying slander at worst.

"I only transformed into a mare to lure Svadilfari away from his master, and when we were deep enough in the woods I changed back and tied him to a tree so he couldn't help him finish building the wall-how were you told it went?"

As for Darcy...well, she found him quite fascinating, to say the least. He was so opposite from his brother. Where Thor was impulsive, Loki was calculating, as if the world were his chess board. There was never a moment where he wasn't observing his new surroundings or the people near him. She could tell he tried to memorize every detail of his new company, whether it was how they walked, how much they spoke using their hands, or their facial expressions whenever listening to someone else.

She detected Loki had an unmistakable air of melancholy to him; he was someone who kept his distance and expected the same from others. Darcy suspected there was much about his past he didn't fully disclose to her, and wanted to learn in hopes of better understanding his behavior. Keeping into account his recent behavior included trying to murder his brother via magical suit of armor that could shoot fire, she gathered from what information she had on him he was the result of what would happen if the Bronte sisters spent late nights playing D+D.

The next morning Jane had ordered Loki to study the many maps of the galaxy that littered the walls behind her and see if he could find anything she couldn't. Darcy was making coffee, while Selvig was mysteriously late.

"Thor told me there are nine realms," she said. "There has to be something else out there that could work as a bridge between here and Asgard. Do you know anything that could do this?"

"Any bridges other than the Bifrost are beyond our reach," he explained. "Unlike other realms, this place has a lack of magic that would make it extremely difficult to open any portals."

Jane's brow furrowed. "You said you knew about other ways to travel between worlds."

"I do. You were the one who assumed they would all cross through here."

Jane was about to shoot back when the doors opened and Selvig walked in, wearing an expression that was at once concerned and awestruck.

"I received a phone call from Director Fury. He wants me to meet him in New York. He says SHIELD has found an item called the Tesseract, an item that could be more powerful than we could hope for."

Loki's mouth opened slightly. His attention was immediately captured.

"The Tesseract, you say? Here in Migard?"

"Yes," said Selvig, now suspicious. "How much do you know about it?"

Loki smiled with a hint of accomplishment. "It appears you have a method of bringing your beloved back, Miss Foster."

"It's Doctor Foster if you don't mind," corrected an annoyed Jane. "And what do you mean by that?"

"The Tesseract is a cube that can bend energy and matter to the will of whoever possesses it."

"Director Fury thinks it can be used as an energy source," said Selvig. "He says if harnessed correctly, it would make Stark Industries look like a Radio Shack by comparison." He turned to Loki. "So you're saying that the Tesseract's the only thing here that can open portals to other worlds?

"Yes," said Loki, "And it looks like the only way I can fulfill my end of the deal is to go SHIELD with you."

Jane tried to hold in a loud snort of laughter, but was only half-successful.

"And you're thinking of stealing the most powerful relic known to man from the most top-secret agency in the world? Or were you planning on walking in and asking for it politely?"

"Oh I see," said Loki in a faux-apologetic tone. "You want to retrieve your lover with a more honorable approach, something more scientific? Maybe it would be easier if you created your own wormhole and restructured the universe itself, I'm sure that would be much simpler than me infiltrating a single area?"

Jane pouted. Loki was right, and she hated him for it. She wondered how Thor dealt with his constant barrage of sardonic replies.

"Keep in mind that you're the one who assigned me the mission of bringing him back to you," he said, "How that's accomplished will be through my own devices and not yours."

"Only things don't go very smoothly when you're left to your own devices, or have you forgotten that?" she asked.

"It would be impossible for me to forget what you incessantly remind me of." he said.

A few feet away from them, Darcy was severely tempted to microwave some popcorn in order to better enjoy their back and forth banter bordering on a game of intellectual table tennis.

"You two better stop arguing like school children or we'll never make any progress," said Selvig, finally stepping in.

"He's right, Doctor," said Loki. "All I would need is to be in the same room as the Tesseract, and transporting Thor from Asgard will be an easy task."

"And why would you even need to be there? Why can't Erik go by himself?" asked Jane.

"Because objects of magic can only be used by those who already know magic. Nothing would happen if him or any one of you were to touch it."

"So you'd enter SHIELD, and once inside you'd have infinite power at your disposal. No doubt you'd make Earth your personal kingdom." said Jane with folded arms.

"And why would I want to proclaim myself king of a world I have no interest in?" he asked. "If you were given the Tesseract would you wish to rule Asgard? A place you barely know? It would be like a bird trying to take over the sea."

Jane wasn't having any of it. "There's only one reason you're suggesting this plan in the first place. It's so you can get the Tesseract and summon god knows what chaos as if punishing us for ever trusting you."

"I'm not suggesting. I'm insisting it's the only way Thor can get back to you."

"And even if he did return, who's to say that's not what you want to happen?" she asked. "You came this close to killing him, what's to stop you from finishing?" Passionate anger rose in her voice, and it was getting very close to spilling out.

Jane had struck a nerve of Loki's.

"I have known Thor far longer than a mortal like you will ever know," he said to her with equal intensity. "You desire him so strongly, and yet your time with him was but an instant in the time he's lived. Did he tell you any stories of Asgard? Any experiences there that made him who he is now? Was 'love' a word even shared aloud by you and him? And yet all this for someone who is still a stranger in so many ways to you. How can a woman who knows so much about the stars recognize so little about her own petty wishes?"

"My 'petty wishes' are to better understand how and why the universe works the way it does," said Jane with a steel expression. "I am a woman of science, something you clearly have little grasp of, and I seek out Thor because he could be the key in giving me the answers I've been looking for for years. And any feelings he and I shared during his time here is none of your damn business."

In the back of her mind, Darcy checked her mental scoreboard. Jane: 3, Loki: 2.

"You've made it abundantly clear you can't trust me," said Loki. "And yet, you're practically forcing me to comply with you. I have no idea what this SHIELD is capable of, but it must involve doing unknowingly awful things to me, otherwise your threat would be empty. So with that in mind, I have a very strong case for making sure you get what you want. Since the only way you can get what you want would involve activity of questionable ethics on my part, I see no other option than to see my plan through. And in case you needed further reassurance, once Thor is summoned back to you, he'll have every right to exact justice upon me, and if he does, I won't even put up a fight, because there is nothing in this world of yours I want." He stood with everyone's eyes on him, his palms outstretched as if he was either about to perform a magic trick or caught in the middle of a crime. "So there you have it, Doctor Foster. The only reason I'm doing this is to escape the threat of pain, despite the fact I've gotten quite accustomed to it."

And with that, he walked off into another room.

After a few moments of absorbing everything that was said, Jane took a breath and knew what had to be done. It just wouldn't be done his way. "Alright. Erik, you'll go to New York to meet with Fury and use the Tesseract to bring Thor back. Darcy, you'll be in the van with me as I'll drive around the desert during that time just in case he shows up in the same place we first found him."

"What about Loki?" asked Darcy.

"He told us everything we need to know; we're no longer dependent on him." said Jane dismissively.

"But what if he said was right? What if the Tesseract's like a car and he's the only one who knows how to drive?"

"Darcy, we've been over this," said Selvig. "He is a trickster. He thrives off of tricking others, and you're making yourself an easy target."

She detected the message in their tones. Your opinion doesn't matter to us.

Walking out of the room, she left to find the last person who openly listened to her.

Darcy found Loki sitting on the edge of the rooftop.

"I know why you're doing what you're doing," she said.

He turned around.

"You want Thor to trust you again." she stated as she walked towards him.

Loki's face tightened as if she had just sprinkled salt on an open wound. "This isn't about-"

"No, this is what's been motivating you this whole time. You know you screwed up, and you think there's no way you could ever be forgiven for what you did. And so you let us think you're doing this because Jane forced you into it, when in reality even after everything that's happened, you still feel an obligation to Thor." She stopped, just inches away from him. "You're doing this as if you're trying to convince yourself you're still capable of one good deed."

Loki opened his mouth to retort-and couldn't think of anything to diminish her claim, truth or lie.

"There's no shame in making up for past mistakes," she said. A sly smile etched itself on her lips. "And I promise I won't speak any of this to Jane or Selvig."

"Has anyone ever told you you have a way with words?" he said finally, not letting her know that she was the only one in this unusual world whom he would start conversation with and not have it feel like a chore.

"Nope, at least not around here," she said. "Although Jane has said I have a way with making the coffee have the same consistency as molasses."

"It seems like she doesn't fully appreciate your service."

Darcy sighed. "I try to please her, I really do. I'm always thinking of ways I can be useful, but I'm surrounded by words and concepts that I've never heard before. The only reason I even took this internship is because all the ones I wanted to take were filled for the semester," she shook her head, a stray curl falling to frame her chin. "I could have been serving in D.C., but instead I chose to go hundreds of miles away from school and home to a town with nothing happening save the occasional Norse god appearance, just so I could graduate on time."

"You make sacrifices for your education," said Loki, "I find that admirable."

"Thank you," she said. "It's nice to know you value education."

"Thor would often get after me," he said. He mimicked his voice. " 'If only you'd spend less time in the library and more time on the training grounds, maybe you'd get the attention from Father you seek!'"

She let out a light giggle. "That does sound like something he'd say."

Loki suddenly grew suspicious. "You're taking this so calmly,"

"And how am I supposed to take this?" she asked.

"The fact that you're speaking to a god that fell through a hole in space does nothing to disturb you?"

She shrugged."Nah, if anything, it sounds like something out of a fairy tale. A prince from a far away kingdom falling out of the sky into another world."

"You have fairies in this realm?"

She cracked a grin. "No, it's just something we call stories with a lot of magical plot devices in them. They're usually about maidens being rescued by princes. I can shows you some books from the town's library if you'd like to learn more."

Now it was his turn to smile. "I would like that."

It was then Loki noticed a mysterious silver box inside Darcy's pant pocket.

"And what is that you're carrying?" he asked.

"Oh, this?" she smiled. "Hear for yourself."

She took out the box and with it came a thin wire attached to it which was in a "Y" shape with dots on both ends. She lifted one of the dots to his ear. He heard strange music come out of it, a song not made with any instruments he knew of.

"A singing box-" he said, "So magic does exist in this realm."

"No, we have technology in this realm, and it's called an ipod."

"So you Midgardians can't cause anything to happen just by thinking it?" he asked, taking the dot out of his ear.

"No, that stuff only happens in fantasy books some of us write." She paused and realized the implication. "Are you telling me you can?"

"If I feel like it." he said casually.

"Show me."

He was not her personal source of entertainment.

"And what if I told you I've exhausted my limits?"

She smiled smugly. "Then I'm just going to be convinced you're bluffing unless you prove it."

That did it. He was not going to have his powers dismissed on two separate realms.

Loki's eyelids twitched, and Darcy could have sworn for a split second his irises had changed from sea green to red.

Darcy felt something cold drop on her nose. She looked up. Tiny snowflakes fell from the sky. She held out her hands, cupping the drops as winter politely introduced itself to the desert.

It was then Loki noticed pure awe light up Darcy's face. It took him a while to be certain of it, for no one had ever reacted that way when presented with his magic.

"It's snowing...in New Mexico." she said slowly.

"Surely in your civilization of singing boxes you must have found a way to do this yourself."

"No, actually. Our technology can do a lot of things, but making crystallized rain fall from the sky is not one of them."

"This truly impresses you?" he asked.

"Impresses me? Anyone here would call this a miracle!"

A miracle? Is it that easy to amuse Midgardians? Perhaps she wouldn't be as enchanted if she knew it wasn't real.

And just as swiftly as they appeared, the snow vanished.

"It's an illusion, nothing more. I can't really bring anything into existence. I can only play tricks on the mind."

"Tricks are for kids. That was straight-up wizardry."

"You like having your eyes deceived?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Most people want to be deceived. Even if they know something's not real, they still love the feeling of thinking for a split second it could be."

She moved closer to him, although not enough for him to notice. "So did you always know how to make it snow?"

"No," he said. "I was never as strong as Thor on the battlefield, but I was clever. I would spend hours practicing ways to project duplicates of myself, or manipulating the form of different objects. Unfortunately, spells were never looked as highly upon as bringing home a beast's head as a trophy."

"I know the feeling. No boy in my high school would bother with a girl in the AV Club if they thought they had a chance with a cheerleader."

Loki didn't understand the words she used, so he continued.

" And then later I thought to myself, 'why simply attack your enemies with brute force and physical weapons? Why not throw off their guard by distorting their very sense of reality?"

"Did that help you at all gain approval?"

"I was called lazy for my strategies. The warriors thought I lacked courage for not taking on my opponents directly."

"And yet how many other people did they know that could do the same things as you? I'd much rather have people think I can control the weather than live every day like a World of Warcraft raid."

Loki was starting to understand more of what she was saying, but his memories of home (or what was at least intended to be) kept pressing him to go on.

"There were so many days when I believed, 'If I could only master this spell, if I could cast it just so, maybe Father would look at me the same way he does Thor," His expression hardened. "But that day never came, and now I know why."

Darcy knew at that moment it would be best for her to leave him to his thoughts. She walked downstairs, thinking her absence would give him a better atmosphere to think. It didn't.

Later that afternoon, a cold, mocking voice entered Loki's head. It was the same voice that spoke to him whenever he was going over plans to persuade.

_You could have all the authority in the world here. You could manipulate them all so easily. Especially her. So eager to learn your ways. So willing. All you'd have to do is get her on your side, then make her turn against the others-_

_No. I won't do that. I will not corrupt her._

_Oh, suddenly you've grown a conscience now? You're letting her turn you soft, just like her friend did to Thor._

_Perhaps she didn't make him soft. Perhaps she made him something else..._

_You're diminishing yourself. Are you honestly alright with falling from prince of Asgard into living like a helpless mortal in hiding, just to be with a mere student?_

_..._

_You're just trying to make her trust you. Any possibility of a future with her isn't real._

_It was then Darcy's words came back to haunt him:_

_Even if they know something's not real, they still love the feeling of thinking for a split second it could be._


	5. Branch

Author's Note: Again, a massive thank you to those following this. I know it's been a while since I uploaded, but I moved into a new apartment and everything still isn't where it should be. However, this has given me time to insert more bits here and there that wouldn't have existed without extra spare time. I owe a huge thank you to all the TV specials on the universe I saw that gave me the inspiration I needed for this chapter.

Loki was in the Asgard throne room, as if he had never left.

In front of him sat Odin, with Thor standing to his right. Both of them were staring at him with undeniable hatred. Loki was taken aback by this, for despite all the times they gave him looks of disapproval in the past, never had they looked at him with this much openly intense loathing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw behind him the entire court of Asgard was viewing him with the utmost contempt.

"You have nearly broken two kingdoms, son of Laufey," said Odin. Loki winced as if struck. "You have betrayed the trust of everyone you know." He turned to Thor. "Make sure he never spreads his lies throughout this kingdom or any other again."

Something shot straight into Loki's chest, throwing him to the floor. He looked up, and once again Mjolnir had pinned him down. He saw Thor walk towards him holding a needle and thread. He knelt beside him, his face a stone mask as he was pressing his hand on the side of Loki's mouth and with the other...

...Loki let out a cry of agony as his lips were being pricked over and over, the pain of the needle's point made so much worse by the fact that it was being guided by the man he had once regarded as his brother and closest (and perhaps only) friend. Bit by bit his mouth was being closed up, a thousand thoughts rushing through his head, knowing that none could escape. And all this time Thor was silent, obedient, treating him like no more than a common enemy that must be dealt with.

Finally, he could not utter another sound.

More than anything, he wanted to scream. Not just from the pain, but from the fact that they knew his ability to speak was one of his few sources of power, and was now stripped from him.

Thor took Mjolnir off of Loki, although the strength was still knocked out of him to the point he could only turn on his side using his arms for support.

All around him, he could hear the mocking cries of the crowd, thanking Thor for his much-needed service and denouncing the false king.

The pain in Loki's mouth was still throbbing.

Thor's expression remained a stone mask.

And all this time, the crowd's jeers intensified in sound, reaching an ear-splitting shriek-

His eyes snapped open.

He was back in Midgard, on the cot with Darcy and Selvig sleeping around him.

Instinctively, he felt around his mouth, making sure there was no trace of stitches. When he could feel none, he sighed and walked up to the roof, in need of fresh air.

The night was a still sea of black, the only light coming from a large fixture behind him and a few stars shining in the distance. It was just last night that he had entered this realm and had been taken in by Darcy. He began to wonder what might have happened to him if she didn't.

Just then the door behind Loki opened. He turned to find Darcy, holding a book and a thin silver rectangular device, one that resembled a larger version of her singing box.

"You really like coming up here. Jane comes here a lot too, mainly at night. Usually it's to do research." A smile crept upon her lips, one that suggested a touch of pride. "Although there was that one time she went here during a meltdown after she found out I hacked into the computer system to play Minecraft."

She walked up to him. "You had a bad dream. I can tell."

"It's nothing that concerns you." he said, avoiding eye contact.

"Maybe you'd feel better if you told me about it."

Fine. Satisfy her curiosity, then she'll leave you alone.

"It was about Asgard."

She looked to the stars and back to him. "Can you see it from here?"

He squinted.

"No. The sky here is completely different."

"Tell me everything about it." she said, and he could tell at once she was genuinely interested.

Loki's face turned to hers quizzically.

"Hasn't Thor told you everything?"

"Not really. He told Jane all the important stuff, and Selvig already knows everything from being raised on the stories, but me?" She sat down on a nearby chair. " I'm a total noob when it comes to Norse mythology."

"Noob..." he tested the word on his tongue.

She grinned. "It means I'm ignorant on the subject."

"Oh," he said, sitting on a chair apart from her. "Well, the bifrost connects Asgard with all of the nine realms. Or at least it used to, until Thor-well, you already know that part."

"What does the bifrost look like?"

"A road, made from a rainbow."

Her face brightened up. "Like in Mario Kart?"

Loki stared at her as if she just started speaking in tongues.

"Sorry," said Darcy, holding up her hands in a surrendering gesture. "Forgive my 21st century Earth outbursts. Proceed."

He began describing to her the kingdom above the clouds, (to which Darcy exclaimed, "Laputa!" and once again apologized) and how he spent his days there.

"There's an enormous gilded hall that leads to the throne room. Thor and I would play hide-and-seek there as children," his thin lips spread into a smile. "Of course, learning how to teleport at the time tended to give me the advantage."

Darcy shared the smile, her lips curving upward.

It was then Loki realized just how full they were. And such a peculiar shade. Not quite red, not quite violet. They reminded him of a fruit he had seen once before.

Ah.

Pomegranate.

He silently wondered if they tasted as such.

"What else happened there?" she asked, derailing his train of thought.

"Right," he said. "We would also practice fighting in the courtyard, and naturally Thor was more gifted than I. He would always encourage me to imagine how glorious it would be to put the swords we practiced with to use on the battlefield, but I never really saw the point in risking one's life for abstract notions such as honor, but everyone else in Asgard saw it as the most important thing one can do. Of course, it would be an understatement to say he and I didn't agree on most things."

"What else did you not agree on?"

"As much as Thor would insist he would be the greatest king Asgard ever knew, I still say tradition was the only thing that would have placed a crown on his head. To honor-there's that word again-the old ways was always chosen over new ideas. Of course I never told him that, even though it's not like he ever listened to me before. He never understood what I meant when I told him it was better for a ruler to know how to flatter enemies more than women. To which he would say we would work as a team-I would get all the enemies and he would get all the women."

"What do you miss about it the most?" she asked, hoping to get a clue as to what could take his mind off his current state of resentment.

The idea that once I actually belonged to a caring family.

The feeling that no matter how bad things were, I could at least say I was a proud Asgardian.

Thor coming to my side when no one else would.

Loki knew he would never be able to say these things to her, so he did what he did best and decided to lie.

"There were countless miles of forest outside the kingdom. We usually went out there only to hunt, but there were some days when I wished nothing more than to ride a horse out to its very edges and not stop until every inch of the emerald sea was no longer new to me."

"It sounds beautiful," said Darcy softly.

"It was...I confess there are many parts I still miss."

"Of course you'd miss it, it's your home, isn't it?"

"The only one I knew," replied Loki, being part-honest.

Her eyes shone.

"I want to show you something."

She sat down on a chair and opened up her rectangular device. It had a glass on the top half, which showed a night sky with stars and realms he had never seen before.

"This is what scientists like Jane have discovered about what our universe looks like," she pointed to a blue orb with specks of green. "This is what our world looks like from space..." Her fingers tapped at the bottom half of the device, and then more orbs appeared. "And these are the other planets in our solar system."

"And what sort of beings live on those worlds?" asked Loki.

"None have been confirmed, but some people love to argue."

The orbs then got smaller and smaller until they disappeared and entirely new shapes appeared amidst the darkness. There were swirls of stars, waves of violet and blue lights, traces of mist and rings of clouds.

"And as we reach out further and further, you have these thingys called nebulas..." said Darcy, but Loki could only hear parts of her commentary. He was transfixed at the images on the glass. Not in all his years of studying the astrological charts in Asgard did he see anything like this.

Finally, everything on the glass lay still.

"This is the farthest image we have of the cosmos, known as the cosmic web" she said. She turned to him. "Can you find Asgard anywhere?"

Loki stared at the screen with mouth partly open. Threads of colored light overlapped and intertwined across the blackness of space. He knew at once what they meant.

"Yggardrisil." he said with hushed reverence.

"Iggy what-now?" asked Darcy, now her turn to be confused by bizarre sounding words.

"Those are the branches of Yggardrisil-" he explained. "The tree that is the home of all worlds, the holder of life itself."

She took off her glasses. "Sorry, I'm not seeing a tree here."

"What are those things you wear?" he asked.

"Oh these? These are just my glasses," she said, rubbing them on her sweater. "They help me to see better when I'm working."

He reached out a hand. "May I?"

She handed them over. "Sure, but I don't think they're going to work on you."

Ever so gingerly, Loki placed them over his eyes. His vision instantly became a haze.

Darcy had become a swirl of colors, moving back and forth, laughing hysterically.

"Is this how you see the world?" he asked, "How can you stand it?"

"First of all, I have different eyes than yours," she said, taking the glasses off of him. "Not all of us have flawless god-vision. And secondly, at least those don't make me look like I belong in a German fashion shoot."

Now that he could see again, he stared closer at the screen.

"You say this is the farthest image you mortals have found. Who's to say if you found one from a larger distance, it wouldn't show a trunk or roots? Have you ever seen only the branches of a tree up close? What if you never walked away and saw the rest of it?"

Darcy knew the possibility of the cosmos resembling a tree was nearly impossible, yet there was something in his voice that made her consider what he said just might be true. He had already shown her he could do magic; perhaps we was doing a trick right now. The deep, gentle tones of his voice led her to suspect he could cast a spell just by speaking to her.

"You're so used to magic from where you come from I don't expect you to know that around here we always try and use the scientific explanation."

"Is there no room for magic in this world?" he asked.

"A long time ago the people here used to believe in magic, but as time went on they found less and less reasons to."

"And did they believe people could harness magic as I can?"

"Once," said Darcy. Her tone turned apologetic. "They were called witches. They...were seen as deviating from the path of goodness even though they were mostly harmless innocent women, so they were hunted down and put to death."

Loki swallowed. "I see. So people hating what they can't understand applies to each of the Nine Realms." He whispered "Witches" to himself and began to think that Darcy might be one. He would never admit it to anyone, least of all her, but he could sense a spark of enchantment that lived in her eyes that with the right push just might be able to conjure the same trickery he could.

Those same blue eyes then stared directly at him with an unwavering gaze. He noticed there was just a touch of grey to them. Their color reminded him of the sky right before a rainstorm.

"Why are you so interested in me and not Jane or Selvig?" she asked him.

She was right to notice he preferred her over the other two, he thought.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You seem the most comfortable around me. No, not seem. You are the most at ease when you're talking to me. You've said things to me I know you haven't told anyone else. Why?"

"Truth be told-" said Loki, "I was very much like you at your age. The utmost interest in seeing others' reactions, the feeling that no matter how hard you try you'll never be able to fully belong where you are..." He shifted his weight on the chair so that he was just a few inches closer to her. "I see so much of myself in you, only you still have innocence left. I want to make sure you keep that for as long as possible, and never feel the despair I did. It would be so pitiable if you were to ever feel the hate I did. It's exhausting-it drains you like a parasite until you can no longer remember anything good or pure."

"You really care about me that much?" she asked. The words just escaped her mouth, too quickly for her to contain them. Two rosebuds burst onto her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I should've phrased that differently-"

"No, there's no need to apologize-"

"That came off so stupid-sounding-"

"It's just that it would be a tragedy if anyone were to feel what I felt, not just you-"

"You know what-"

"Can I see that book you have with you?" asked Loki at the exact same moment Darcy asked, "Would you like to see the book I have?"

"Yes, of course," replied Loki.

She placed the book in front of him. The cover read, "Grimm's Book of Fairy Tales"

"These are the stories I told you about," she said, opening the book. "The stuff we can only read about on this planet must be a typical Monday for you."

Loki read each page thoroughly, every story completely new to him. Tales of spinning wheels, roses, deals struck between desperate parents...

Darcy sat by him, entertained at him discovering stories that in her world had existed for centuries.

In the later pages, he read about handsome princes slaying various monsters, and some where giants fell to their deaths.

So even here, giants were meant to be killed.

He was about to close the book, when Darcy's hand reached out.

"No, you're almost done! There's just one more story," she said.

He turned to her, then to the page. It was about a dark-haired maiden with skin white as snow who was nearly killed, only to be brought back by a prince's kiss.

He found this story far more pleasant than the giant ones.

"That was certainly educating," he said as he gave the book to her.

"I thought you'd like it," she said proudly. "And now that I think about it, there is one last question I have for you."

"Yes?"

"When you talked earlier about all the hate you felt, what made it stop? What made the despair stop?"

Loki needed to be sure if she had feelings for him beyond simple excitement upon meeting an otherworldly visitor.

After all, she still thought he was a prince.

He remembered all the maidens he had been with before her and knew deep down they chose to be with him because of his status and not for the pleasure of his company.

Well, perhaps a bit for his company, he hoped.

The wooing process in Asgard just seemed so routine to him, devoid of any sincerity. All he had to do was choose a comely lass, stare at her from afar, send her letters reminding her of his rank and achievements, and exchange glances of longing at the dining table before she would enter his chambers and entwine her body with his.

Cause and effect.

No passion beyond what was needed to get them through the night.

No reason to put the others' honor above their own.

And Loki was certain that any feelings Darcy had for him were nothing stronger than a flirtation with the new.

Like Jane, she was in love with the idea of him, of what he should be to her, rather than his true self. (By all the Aesir, if she knew!)

Rather than indulge her fantasy, he decided (as he had on countless prior occasions) that the urge to trick was stronger than the urge to satisfy.

He looked Darcy straight in the eyes and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her ear.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.

Her face warmed slightly despite the fact it was near freezing outside.

"Yes."

His face leaned towards hers until only an inch separated them-

-to which his mouth raced past hers and whispered in her ear, "You're a very smart girl, you can figure it out yourself."

He smiled as he stood up and walked over to the door, leaving a stunned Darcy to wonder: Was he almost going to kiss her, or was she dreaming that?


	6. Through the Looking Glass

Author's Note: New chapter, new year! Ugh, can't believe it took so long to upload this. Like a lot of my chapters, I got a burst of inspiration at the last minute and kept on adding and adding, but the good news is the story's past the half-way mark! And like with every chapter upload I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who's followed this story wanting to know what happens next.

In the morning, Selvig went to say good-bye to Jane and Darcy as he prepared for his trip to meet with Nick Fury in New York. Loki stood watching him while putting the cots away and, unknown to everyone else, collected a loose hair of Selvig's that had fallen on a pillow.

As Selvig gave Jane one last embrace, his head looked up to Loki's and the god noticed uncertainty flash across his eyes. Deep down, he knew he had no idea what he was doing or how he would manage to use the Tesseract.

Loki smiled.

He would fix that.

During the several hours that they waited for Selvig to call and tell them he was in SHIELD, Jane became increasingly anxious. Darcy noticed the way she grabbed papers a little too tightly, or scrolled through her computer files more quickly than usual. Finally, she gave up and collapsed in a chair.

"Darcy?" she asked with her eyes glued to the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"Did you use the lab equipment to download _Firefly_ while Selvig and I were away?"

"...yeah." said Darcy, biting her lower lip, expecting an earful.

Instead, Jane turned over to her with sincere curiosity.

"Could you show it to me? I need something to take my mind off things."

Pleasantly surprised, she walked over to her laptop.

A few hours later, the kitchen's refrigerator was empty of all beer and Jane and Darcy were singing the show's theme song at the top of their lungs.

Loki watched them with the utmost interest, fascinated at this display of uninhibitedness. The beer he had sampled from them had a weakened, watered-down taste next to the mead he was accustomed to, and he wondered how it could have such a strong effect on mortals.

It certainly had a hold on these two, anyway, as Darcy asked, "Crap, we're out. There's a broom closet with a mini fridge, could you get us some more, Loki? Jane's kind of preoccupied." She gestured to the astrophysicist splayed out on her lap mumbling sadly, "Why did this show and Thor have to be taken from me?"

As Loki walked into the closet, he noticed there was a small mirror hanging on the wall. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but it seemed like he had no other choice if Jane was to get what she wanted.

Within a few moments, a ringing was heard, then Darcy yelling for Jane to wake up.

Across the hall, Jane snapped awake as she heard the voice on the phone speak to her.

"Yes? Yeah, great. That's fantastic...alright, we'll be getting everything ready then."

She lowered the phone with an enormous smile. "Erik said he's in New York. He's just entered SHIELD headquarters. He'll call back when he's made contact with the cube."

_Well_, thought Loki, _that's my cue. _

He had never done mirror magic before, and with good reason.

Besides using his verbal powers of persuasion to get others to do his bidding, no other spell required as much commitment and energy as commanding another from a distance, even it was just temporary.

There were even some tales of those controlling others through a mirror for so long, it drained them of their magic for years.

And besides all that, it would only work if there was a mirror or reflective surface on the other side, something he had no way of knowing.

_ Here's hoping SHIELD is run by narcissists_, he thought as he took out the gray strand of Selvig's hair from his overcoat.

Controlling one through a mirror would only happen if a part of them were in the mage's possession, and hair would do just fine in this case.

He closed it in his grip as he began to summon the magic which encircled the glass like a halo before gradually sinking inside.

Thousands of miles away, Selvig found himself in an underworld far more expansive than anything he could have imagined. He pondered what kind of secrets or how many of them were kept down here. In any case, this was clearly the place where conspiracy theories were born.

"Dr. Selvig," came a cool, low voice.

It was Nick Fury, director of SHIELD and someone whose physical appearance immediately suggested the type of authority where one false move would be the difference between leaving his domain in one piece or being on the MIA list.

_Even with an eye patch I doubt anything would be able to slip past this guy_, Selvig thought. "So you're the man behind all this?" he asked. He gestured to his surroundings. "It's quite elaborate-are you taking me down here to kill me?" He hoped what he said was taken as a joke rather than a sincere question.

"I've been hearing about the New Mexico situation. Your work has impressed a lot of people who are much smarter than I am."

He shrugged. "I have a lot to work with. The Foster theory, the gateway to another dimension-it's unprecedented."

Fury cocked his head.

"Isn't it?" asked Selvig, wondering what could possibly be more groundbreaking than Jane's discovery.

Fury motioned for him to take notice of a silver case in front of him.

"Legend tells us one thing, history another. But every now and then we find something that belongs to both."

He opened the case, revealing a small, glowing blue cube.

"What is it?" asked Selvig.

"Power, doctor. If we can tap it-unlimited power."

Back in New Mexico, Loki was witnessing all of this. And now the signal was given for him to act.

He focused all his attention to the mirror, Selvig's profile in the reflection. With the utmost concentration he willed himself into the glass, through the glass, until a form beside the scientist in the mirror began to come into focus. Loki was trembling now, both from anticipation and the amount of energy it was taking from sapping the other man's free will, like catching rain in a bucket.

Finally, he appeared by Selvig, smiling. Already the magic had begun to drain him on the outside as well as within. The lines on his face became more pronounced, his skin became leathery, his teeth yellowed. Still, he knew he must push forward; vanity was the least of his problems.

Besides, if he reacted at his changed appearance with any distaste, the slightest frown would be copied by Selvig, arousing suspicion.

"Well I guess that's worth a look," he whispered.

"Well I guess that's worth a look," Selvig repeated.

He reached out his hands, pressing his fingers down on the mirror, just as Selvig pressed his against the sides of the cube.

_ Just a bit more..._

The magic was draining him ounce by ounce.

_ Hurry up, damn you, I can't do this much longer..._

The Tesseract was now in Selvig's hands. _His_ hands now.

So much power at his disposal.

He could build an empire.

He could control any army he wished.

And yet what would be the point of all that?

How long would the satisfaction live of conquering any enemy when he would always feel like an enemy to the place he once called home?

He once told himself he desired being king, was even entitled to it. But it was a lie, like so much else, done to ease the sting of knowing what he really wanted was simply getting the same recognition Thor did.

Not even the Tesseract could provide that.

And if this simple blue cube said to hold "unlimited power" couldn't grant him any relief, or ease his mind or any of the minds of the people he once called family, then it was worthless to him.

_Might as well complete this bargain._

_ I use this cube to summon Thor from Asgard to Midgard, in the land he once came to. I use this cube to summon Thor from Asgard to Midgard, in the land he once came to..._

Loki knew he would pass out if he had to control Selvig for a moment more.

A flash of light burst in his eyes.

A vision of Thor falling from the stars.

It was done.

It was as if Loki had just been shot in the forehead. He tilted back, squeezing his eyes shut as control rushed back to him. The spell was broken.

As for Selvig, it would be as if he had just woke up from a dream, a feeling of being in a daze and a confused Fury wondering what got into him being the only side effects.

Loki's head was still spinning as he opened his eyes, looking at the mirror to find if his appearance had improved since then.

Instead he found a blue-skinned monster staring back.

Controlling Selvig must have used every trace of magic within him, including the glamour of his Asgardian form.

He peered closer, for before he had only seen his hands in their Jotun form.

There were markings etched onto his skin, now as blue as the night right after the sunset...his eyes widening in disbelief, now red as blood, as red as Laufey's-

_ No. No, by all the Nine Realms don't let this be permanent. I'd rather die than be without magic and looking like this. _

His heart raced as his skin remained unchanged despite him willing it to revert to its normal color.

Then he saw Darcy appear behind him in the mirror's reflection, and his heart sunk completely.

He turned to her, hands shaking.

She took a step forward, her mouth partially open.

"Loki?" she asked worriedly.

He knew she would see through any lie he would tell her. As it was, he knew he couldn't come up with anything remotely convincing in such little time given.

_ She's going to scream._

_ She's going to tell me how angry she is that I lied to her. For letting her believe I could be her prince, instead of the beast the prince slays._

"This is who I am," he said, his voice parched and hollow. "This is the only identity I have. A frost giant, left to die by his own father. I'm not a prince. I'm not even a man."

His jaw tightened, and he tried to regain his composure, trying to make it sound like casual conversation. "And the only reason I appear as this is because I was using the Tesseract by controlling Selvig. He's unharmed, and Thor should appear soon. But now you see proof I'm a manipulator who works in secret. A misfit trickster being loyal to no one and having no one."

He knew the day would come when he would be punished for his actions. He just didn't know it would be so intimate, so stripped from formality and traditional methods of retribution.

For a while, Darcy simply stood there, absorbing everything he had just said. And then she did the least likely thing Loki could have imagined.

She walked towards him.

"I get it now," she said. "You can only see your flaws, and so you think that's the only thing you're made out of. You think you can only cause harm and so you separate yourself from people you feel close to. You've given up. You want pain brought to you because you think you deserve it, because-"

"Stop telling me what and how I think!" he barked.

His eyes burned at her, intensified by their new hue.

Her eyes burned right back.

"Do you want to keep on suffering alone, or do you think you deserve to be the man in Asgard you once were?"

"The man I once was is a lie, nothing more,"

"Bullshit!" she shouted, then was immediately surprised at her new-found fight. Her cheeks began to heat up. "You can deny it all you want, but how long did you know the truth? Less than a week? And how many centuries did you and Thor live together? Which feels more real to you?"

Those last words of hers hit him with all the force of a thousand swords. He could scarcely believe what he had heard. How did one girl ask him a question he never knew just how badly he wanted to be asked? Did she even know her words were as crushing as any hammer, as powerful as any spell?

"Even after seeing me like this, even after everything Selvig's told you about me, you're still not afraid of me?" he asked.

"Why should I be afraid of someone who's always wanted to listen to me? Or wanted to hear my opinions and never found them unwelcome? Someone who's never dismissed me?"

It was so unfair that he never knew anyone like her before.

"There's a saying in Asgard," said Loki, trying one last time to remind her of what she was dealing with. "Never embrace a frost giant and expect warmth in return."

Darcy nodded solemnly and walked out of the room.

_I didn't expect her to accept that so easily_, he thought.

She then walked back in carrying a large blanket.

"Guess I'll need this, then."

She gingerly wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and then her own.

"Sit," she said, as she pulled out a small bottle.

She dipped a finger in it, then lightly stroked it across his cheek.

"What is this?" he asked laying down.

"Foundation," she replied, joining him. "And if you were telling me the truth, I gotta say you damaged your reputation as a trickster."

"Not even tricksters lie all the time," he said. "It's usually so we can get our way. If we could get what we wanted with the truth, we'd tell it."

"What will you do when Thor returns?" she said, continuing going over his face.

"I don't think I'd do anything. He'd be the one to take out his fury on me and then leave with Jane in hopes of never seeing me again."

"I doubt he'd do that."

"I've known him much longer than you."

"And I know he won't give up on you."

Loki stiffened. "He has every right to."

"Rights having nothing to do with it. I'm sure he'd take you back as long as he knew you'd still want to be his brother."

Her eyes widened and she moved back a bit.

"What?" he asked.

She smiled. "I guess I can stop with the make-up."

Loki moved a hand up to his eyes. It was fading back to a fair shade of peach.

"Thank you," he whispered, staring at his hand and then to her.

She moved so that her head was mere inches away from his shoulder.

"I wish I could take you to Asgard," he said softly. "We'd both be strangers there. I could take you to a place no one would ever find us."

"No," said Darcy. "Don't talk about being lost. Focus on being found."

He wanted to memorize every detail of this moment, for in it he realized he had never wanted any maiden in Asgard as much as he wanted her. He wanted to know how she could show such courage and kindness without a second thought. He wanted her voice to tell him truths about himself he would never acknowledge on his own.

But most of all right now, he wanted to know if she could ever feel the same way.

"Why should I even care if you're a frost giant?" she asked. "Is that supposed to be the Norse version of the Abominable Snowman?"

He sighed.

"You don't understand. I spent my whole life being told that they couldn't be reasoned with, that they were vicious, savage brutes who wouldn't think twice about killing innocents." The hidden truth of the words started to unravel, and he knew he couldn't continue without letting her know one last thing. "And that was what I almost did."

Darcy turned her head to him."What?" She said quietly.

"They were the enemy of Asgard. The ones we were always warned about. If I could do what no one else did..."

And for the first time since they met, he could see a glint of fear flash across her eyes.

"You killed them?"

"No. But only because Thor came for me."

He attempted to smile a pathetic, joyless smile. "Now you know why he's the hero and I'm the monster."

She was still trying to take in what she had just heard.

"You have to stop this," she said, standing up.

"Stop what?"

"You were right, hatred consumes you like a parasite, but have you done anything to remove it? Have you ever stopped to think what would have happened if Thor didn't make it? Because I can tell you right now that thinking you've done something great by killing people you've been told are worth less than you has already been done too many times in this world."

Her frame was quivering, and Loki immediately felt ashamed. It ached so much more seeing her show her anger at him for stronger reasons than just a change in appearance.

"Has it ever occurred to you that it doesn't have to be like this?"

He began to stand up. "How can I possibly atone for all I've-"

She laid a finger to his lips. No one had ever done that to him beyond his childhood.

"You might. You just might, but you'll never find out unless you realize one thing: in the Norse mythology book Selvig had, it says the reason earthquakes happen is that you're shaking in agony because a snake is dripping its venom onto you. I don't see any wounds on you. The point is you have a 're already living a different life than what's written about you."

She walked to the door. "We should go help Jane get the van out; Selvig should be calling again by now." she said as she left.

Loki had been defeated in sword practice feeling less humiliated, for this girl had disarmed him without even a weapon save for her disappointment in him.

A numbing sensation enveloped him, draining what little pride was left.

One more person who would likely never forgive him.

And just like all the others, it left a scar on him he would never show.

The drive to the area where Thor fell was mostly a silent one. Jane's mind was fully occupied with wondering what she would say to him upon their reunion and how she would explain Loki's part to play in it.

In the seat behind, Darcy was processing everything Loki had told and shown her.

She knew at least by now that Selvig was wrong about him manipulating her.

If that was the case, Loki would have never told her he was about to carry out such horrible things.

Back there in the small room, she had never seen him so scared before, so unsure of himself. It was such an eerie contrast to how he presented himself to Jane an Selvig as a man who had backup plans for his backup plans. And in that moment she realized the afraid man sharing his darkest thoughts with her thinking she'd lose all hope in him at any second, the man who wouldn't show a care in the world for his actions suddenly caring deeply if she would stay to listen to him even after finding out what he was-that was the purest essence of him, something he kept locked deep inside while spinning tales of the ever-confident, smirking god of mischief in hopes no one would ever try to look for it.

And then there was Thor.

Willing to lay down his own life in an attempt to make his brother see reason was not something to be taken lightly. Did it mean he was a poor judge of character, or was there still some goodness in Loki worth protecting?

Next to Darcy he sat there musing.

_ Could it be the only reason I'm attracted to this girl is that my reasoning is already depleted? Or could it be she's the most normal thing that's ever happened to me? _

As they drove on, they found the same crevice in the ground that Thor was found in. It was just like that night, only this time Jane had everything planned.

She walked out with a flashlight, spotting a large figure that was just starting to get up.

It was a man whose gold hair shone brightly against the moonlight, and whose blue eyes grew at the woman running to him, dropping the flashlight, forgetting everything except what was in her sight.

He leaned toward her, arms outstretched as hers wrapped around his neck.

He stroked the side of her narrow jawline, as if to make sure she wasn't an illusion.

"Jane," he smiled.

"I knew I'd find you," she said, smiling back.

He instantly brought her into his embrace as she laid her lips on his, and the two stayed like this for a very long time until Thor pulled apart from her and asked, "But how did you bring me here now that the Bifrost is no longer working?"

She looked down. "I...had some help."

"Then take me to to them, for I wish to thank them at once."

He took Jane's hand in his as he ran over to the van.

She tried her best to slow his pace, but his force far outmatched hers.

"Thor, wait, there's something you should know-"

"And you can tell me all about it once I've met the person who helped you. We have so much to discuss!"

"Thor, please just listen!"

He rushed over to open the van door, and standing in front of him was the brother he thought he had lost forever.

"...Loki." He whispered, all of his newfound joy turned to pure shock.

Time froze.


	7. Reunion

Wow, this has to be the shortest gap between chapter uploads I've ever done. Anyway, we're past the halfway mark now and there's only three chapters left, but the ending will be a slightly open one if you wish to see it that way. Oh and if you hate chapter cliffhangers than you'll probably hate me for this.

There was a chill inside the van, and the night's temperature had nothing do with it.

Jane and Darcy took turns staring at Thor, then Loki, feeling like they were witnessing a standoff, waiting for the first shot to be fired.

Thor was grasping for the right words, something that was clearly Loki's forte, but for the first time he was the non-talkative one.

At first glance, Loki sitting in rigid stillness and emotionless face appeared to suggest a sort of meekness, but closer inspection into his eyes revealed a burning energy, an overwhelming sense of hatred and hurt that was looking for any excuse to escape its vessel. The effect was downright haunting.

Thor searched his mind, trying to find a way he could release Loki of his trance, but feared all he could do was make him retreat further.

"So you were the one who helped Jane," he finally said. He let out a breath as if he had just released a giant weight off of himself. "You have no idea how good it is to see you alive."

No response.

_Say something, brother, anything..._

"I understand now why you said you weren't-" He winced at the memory his words conjured. "What you said at the Bifrost. Father told me everything."

"Did he?" asked Loki dryly. His face gradually showing how he really felt. "Then he must have told you the reason why he was always more at ease with you than me."

Thor got up. "Loki-"

"And you must know by now that even during your banishment when I was king you still held all the attention and admiration of the court," said Loki with rising anger, standing straight.

"I never wanted to be treated better than you!" shouted Thor, truly meaning it.

"But you were! By everyone!" Loki shouted back, injecting his voice with all the venom that remained in him.

Silence hung in the air.

Darcy desperately wanted the world's longest awkward moment to end, but she had no idea what to say.

Finally, it was Jane who spoke.

"And that justifies trying to kill innocent people?"

I_t's as if her only purpose is reminding me of my mistakes_, he thought.

"I'll admit I shouldn't have sent the Destroyer," he said, his rage subsiding."Perhaps if I had gone myself, things wouldn't have turned out like this."

"You're right," she said with an stern tone. "If it was just you who came here, I would have done everything in my power to make sure you wouldn't get near Thor and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Loki turned to Jane, now knowing he was mistaken and that their arrogance and pride bordering on delusion made Thor and her a perfect match.

"I've done exactly what you wanted me to and I still disgust you?"

Darcy stood by her boss's side. "He has a point, Jane. We do sorta owe him for this reunion."

"We owe him nothing," said Jane coolly, her gaze still fixed on Loki. "Being helpful once doesn't excuse attempted annihilation."

He returned the stare.

"If it weren't for me you'd still be fruitlessly searching the skies."

"If it weren't for you!" Jane spat. "If it weren't for you-"

Darcy stepped in front of Jane, determined to quell what conflict she could.

"Jane, your boyfriend's back, and that's not something to be angry about, and I know for a fact Loki-"

"You have nothing to do with this, Darcy!" snapped Jane.

Her face fell, and as she turned around Loki recognized her look all too well. It was the look of pained defeat after being shot down the moment an opinion was voiced. Usually followed by a reprimand of "Know your place."

"Fine, just-pretend I'm not here." said Darcy, throwing up her hands and walking out of the van. Loki followed.

Thor turned to the van door, and then to Jane.

"Should I go with them?"

Jane shook her head. "They're usually nothing to worry about when they're together. It's like they come up with excuses to sneak out and talk more and more."

His face lit up slightly. "Do you think they have feelings for one another?"

She shrugged. "The god of mischief and the poli-sci major? I don't see how they'd have much in common," She began to rub her temples. "I am happy you're back, really I am, it's just-"

"Just that you found it difficult to work with Loki knowing what he did," said Thor gently.

"You saw what he did! You should know what he's capable of more than me! How can you still act so calmly in front of him?"

He half-smiled.

"Because I know what he's capable of more than you."

"You really are determined to see the good in him, aren't you?" she inquired.

He sat down on her bed.

"I have to. The last time I saw him, he was hanging from the Bifrost. Right before he let go-I didn't see a murderer, or a tyrant. All I could see was the scared face I'd known since boyhood, pleading to have his reasons understood."

Jane joined his side. She was taken aback, for she had never heard him speak so candidly before about anyone besides himself.

"I thought for sure he intended to die, and it crushed me, knowing I could do nothing to save him. At that moment, all the lies, all the betrayal no longer mattered. I just wanted my brother back."

She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened to Loki wasn't your fault."

He looked at her worriedly.

"Then why do I feel the weight of guilt so strongly?"

"It's because you have compassion, something he doesn't have enough of."

His expression hardened.

"No. Don't speak like that. I can do as much harm as he can, just as he has enough potential for good that I do. I know that now. I don't expect you to forgive him. But I do ask that you know why I can't bring myself to see Loki the same way you do."

Jane nodded.

"He's very lucky to have you as a brother. I just don't think he realizes that."

Thor leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"All things are possible with time," he said. "Now, tell me how you and him were able to return me here."

Outside, Loki walked farther and farther from the van into the unknown darkness until he saw a small, trembling figure framed by moonlight.

"Jane was wrong to speak to you like that," he said gently, walking over to her.

Darcy turned around. Her face was now touched with a silvery white glow, but the ethereal effect was lessened somewhat by the ashamed look on her face.

"No, she wasn't," she said sadly. "What have I to do with any of this? I'm just a student who knows how to find the websites she wants me to instead of someone who cares about astro physics as much as she does. Her, Selvig-we all know I'm not the person they want me to be. Even at Culver, I always have this weird feeling that I'm letting my friends down when I don't party as much as they want me to, or if I don't want to take the risks they do."

She only told him the half of it. Of course there were plenty of nights when she preferred studying over drinking around a bonfire, but there were also the times when she pretended to be interested in her boyfriend's bragging of how he never wore a helmet while motorcycling while crossing off her mental checklist of things they would never do together. Or the one ex who she met in Women's Studies who she thought she would get along well with until he joked about how he hoped she was the bra-burning type of feminist. That day, the urge to slap could not be withheld.

She breathed heavily and hugged her forearms against the desert's low temperature.

"And at least Jane's happy now that Thor's here, and she can get the answers she's always wanted. But how did I do anything to help that happen?"

"We were never meant to be heroes, you and I," said Loki, looking out into the distance trying to see if there were any stars out. "It's almost as if..."

"As if what?"

He stared at her, and she knew from the look in his eyes the usual defenses he kept up were nowhere to be found.

"Have you ever felt like you were living in someone else's story?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I don't know why I still give advice to Jane; it's not like she ever takes it." she shut her eyes tightly, as if trying to hold something back. "And I don't want to admit it, but somewhere deep down I know that as soon as this internship is over I'll be back in college, she'll stay here, and it'll be like I never existed to her. Because the only reason I was in the company of gods in the first place was because I was the only one who volunteered for her position, and not because of any merit I had."

Her words struck a chord with Loki, and he realized just how little the word merit was used on him and Thor back in Asgard. Nothing was given to them because of their merit; it was given to them because it was their right as a prince.

And then the harsh truth came crashing down: his title was the only thing that gave him any power, the only thing that allowed him to know Thor as well as he did, and it was only an illusion forged by convenience.

Without it, Loki would have had nothing, yet everyone else would have lived without even noticing his absence because the original plan the whole time was for Odin to have only one son.

"The lives of Thor and Jane will continue just fine without us, because it's now clear to me how you and I are viewed..we're spare parts."

Darcy felt a cold lump form in her.

It was so unnerving to hear, yet so credible. Jane liked her the best when she would say things she agreed with or wanted to hear. She felt more and more like a mirror to Jane, where everything would work out fine as long as she reflected back her opinions.

"And yet," he continued, "There is one difference that forever separates us."

Darcy stepped closer to him.

"And what would that be?"

"You're still tied to those you care about," he said as if stating a common fact. "You have a place to call home, an identity to call your own. People still trust you."

In silence, he cursed the things that distanced her from him, and yet he couldn't help but also love the traits she possessed that he did not.

"Only Thor hasn't severed his tie with you," said Darcy. "This whole time you've been afraid of what he'd do, but back there, if we had stayed a little longer, I know he'd try to tell you you'd still have a home in Asgard."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Couldn't you see the way he looked at you? He thought he'd never see you again, he was trying to reach out to you."

"The last time he did that, I let go," he said softly, more to himself than her.

Her hand clasped over his as he watched her give a reassuring smile.

"Maybe this time, you won't have to."

He was about to say something when a flash of light burst across the sky.

The two stared in shock as it came crashing down, forming a hole in the ground. For a moment the entire ground shook, and with their hands still held, Darcy wrapped her free arm around Loki's for support.

As the dust cleared, an enormous figure walked out from the hole. Markings appeared carved into his cobalt skin, and this combined with his eyes shining crimson gave little doubt that this was a frost giant, and not one accustomed to this strange place.

He was holding onto a shard of glass, which he was staring at with the utmost fascination. It had an opalescent shine to it, and inside it held many colors, switching from red to green to violet.

"So it's true..." he said, "There were some elders who spoke of colored shards found near the mountains that when touched, would take them to a different realm and back."

Dread crawled up Loki, for he instantly understood what was happening.

"The shards...those are from the Bifrost."

The giant turned to him.

"Yes, we suspected as such," he said, walking towards Loki with the stride of a wolf who had just found new prey. "But how did such a thing come to pass?"

"Thor. He smashed it to stop me...and now the pieces of it must have fallen down into the other realms." Loki's mind staggered at trying to imagine how many pieces of the Bifrost fell, and how many beings from the other realms now possessed them.

He grinned.

"I, Utand, would thank him if he were here. But I suppose I'll have to make due with the one who would have destroyed Jotunheim instead."

Knowing exactly what she had to do, Darcy ran away, as far from them as possible, until she became invisible from their line of sight. Loki couldn't help but notice she didn't run back to the van.

Utand laughed. "The girl has abandoned you. A wise decision on her part,"

Loki didn't blame her at all. He didn't even want to know what would have happened to her had she stayed.

The giant's grip on the piece of the Bifrost tightened.

"With this shard I could bring us to where the other jotun would see justice brought upon you. Although," he was now inches away from Loki. "It would so tempting to just kill you right here."

His arms sprang out and wrapped around Loki's neck, beginning to push down and squeeze, and no sooner had the breath begun to leave his body than his skin turned blue, his eyes red and the markings appearing once more.

Utand released his grip, staring on in horror.

"This can't be...you mean you were willing to kill your own kind?" he snarled in disgust.

"I was raised thinking the jotun were vile beasts," said Loki in between gasps, glaring at his attacker as defiantly as he could muster. "So far you've done nothing to persuade me otherwise."

In one swift motion the giant tightly grabbed Loki's jaw and lifted it to his face, forcing him to look directly into his blood red eyes.

"You're quite confident with your tongue," he said. "Let's see how well you'd manage without it."


	8. What Honor Feels Like

Okay, just 2 chapters to go after this. Thanks to all the old and new followers, hopefully I can deliver a satisfying ending. This chapter gets a bit rough and violent; no extreme gore, just battle stuff, followed by a scene that cranks up the Asgardian Bro Feels. Enjoy!

He raised his fist upwards, a dagger of ice forming out of it, ready to be plunged into his victim's mouth-

-which he would have done, were it not for a sudden burst of electricity surrounding him, shocking him and knocking him straight to the ground.

With Utand no longer blocking Loki's view, he could now see Darcy running towards him from a far off distance, holding her taser above her head.

"Remember when I told you I had one of these?" she said as she finally reached him between heavy breaths, "This is what they do!"

Loki's first instinct was to embrace her as tightly as he could, but he knew there was no time for such things if they were to get out safely.

"Darcy," he said to her, trying his best to sound calm and authoritative despite having a mortal being the only factor keeping him from being tongue-less, "Whatever happens, hold onto my hand and keep running."

She did as she was told. They bolted frantically up to the van, their breaths getting heavier and heavier, hot clouds escaping their mouths, knowing the giant could awake at any second.

"Why didn't you run to Thor?" asked Loki.

"I couldn't just leave you with him," she replied. "I thought I'd take down the big guy by surprise and then get us back to him."

"You would take down a jotun for me?"

"I thought if I could knock out the God of Thunder with this thing, how much harder could the blue meanie be?"

He stared at her with an impressed, almost bewildered expression. Perhaps a heart of a hero did beat inside her, and she didn't even know it. But that was something to ponder another time, when their survival wasn't the most pressing issue at hand.

Utand began to pull himself up, staring ahead in fury.

They wouldn't escape so easily.

He punched the ground with all his might, and an enormous ice shard formed and flew straight through the air, hitting the back of Darcy's head.

She collapsed behind Loki, who shouted her name and immediately knelt beside her. He turned her over to see the damage. Her forehead, cheeks and chin were bruised. Her eyes were closed.

"Darcy...come on, we have to go..." he said, tugging at her shoulders.

She didn't respond.

He heard the sound of heavy footsteps approach him.

"What would it take for you to spare her?" he said, still looking down at Darcy.

The giant cocked his head.

"The life of a mortal means so much to the runt?"

"Answer my question." said Loki sternly, raising up to face him.

"Are you really in a position to negotiate?" he asked.

Just then a sharp rumble pierced the night.

They turned their heads to the sound's direction. The sky began to roar, a single bolt of lightening tore down to the earth, and with it, something that moved by so fast it appeared as only a blur of light, but Loki instantly knew it was Mjolnir falling from the heavens.

Perhaps he and Darcy could escape in relative safety just yet.

"What happened?" asked Utand.

"Just some thunder. Storms are very common in these parts," said Loki nonchalantly.

"And you would have me believe this has nothing to do with the god who can control such things?"

"And why would he be here over Asgard?" he asked, trying to stall him for as long as possible.

"I don't know," said the giant, his temper rising and patience lowering, "Why would a bastard from Jotunheim live in Asgard only to end up in Midgard?"

Loki's mind raced.

"Just how do the shards work?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "Did you transport here immediately from Jotunheim?"

"No," said Utand. "There was one before me who used a shard. He came back explaining he was taken to a world of mountains where he saw dwarves from far-off. He left before being spotted, and then he wanted to see if there could be more possibilities. So he broke the shard in two, and with the new one he left, but came back within moments. He said he was taken to the realm of fire, and he had the burn marks to prove it."

Back inside the van a bit earlier, Thor was still soaking in everything Jane had explained to him to the best of her ability about how he was able to return.

Apparently Selvig had somehow manipulated the cube that had once belonged to Asgard, but Thor doubted he could have done so himself as he could not harness magic. It then occurred to him that there was only one person he knew that could have accomplished such a task...

That's when the earth shook violently, and the entire van trembled. He caught Jane from falling to the floor, and as they began to stand up together her eyes searched his for comfort.

"Please tell me those are your friends," she said.

"Possibly," he said, uncertain. "But in just in case-" He raised an arm, leaving the van and staring above at the sky, summoning Mjolnir. Jane followed him outside, hoping he wouldn't have to use it.

Once the hammer fell out of the clouds into his grasp, the two ran across the desert, and they began to see a haze of figures lined in a row.

Up ahead, Thor and Jane could slowly began to make them out. One had the shape of Loki, only his skin was now blue. The other was unmistakably Darcy, but there was something off. They looked to be kneeling with a massive form between them.

As Thor and Jane got closer they realized with a sudden horror that Darcy was unconscious, and both she and Loki had their heads and hair in the grips of a giant's hands.

Jane started to run faster. "Darcy! Darcy can you hear me?" she shouted, the chant of please be okay please be okay pounding through her head like a drumbeat.

Thor gained speed and began to lift Mjolnir.

As if able to predict his behavior, Utand shouted, "I wouldn't be too eager to get closer to the girl or use that hammer, thunder god. The skulls of your friends might not fare so well if you do."

Thor and Jane stopped dead in their tracks.

He dropped Mjolnir, in shock from seeing Loki with the same eyes and skin as the one lifting his head.

"That's a good prince," he said with a sadistic smile. "This one," he said, yanking Loki's hair by the roots, "has much answering to do for his crimes against his own kind. And yet..." he turned his gaze to Darcy. "It's a bit of a puzzle. Would it be a better punishment to simply return all the pain he's given Jotunheim through brute force, or would he find it a worse fate if this one were to die in his place while he watches?"

Jane dug her hands into Thor's shoulder, finding it quite difficult to breath normally.

An unbearable clutch yanked Thor's insides.

Once again, Loki could feel himself falling without any sign of stopping.

"I'm feeling rather merciful tonight. I'll let you choose which one I should set free. Although if you take too long with your decision, I might lose my patience and kill both."

Loki then realized this was more that just punishment for him, but for Thor as well for interfering with the jotun. Killing him and Darcy right away wouldn't have been traumatizing enough; by giving Thor a choice as to who would survive, he was forced to live with the guilt of letting someone he cared for die, something that would stay with him forever.

Loki had to admit it was a horrifyingly effective strategy.

He turned his eyes to the giant. "It would be so much more satisfying killing the one who almost wiped out Jotunheim, wouldn't it? You would be sure to raise in rank for being the one who defeated the killer of Laufey. Killing a defenseless girl would only make you the lowest coward."

Thor ran up to Loki, kneeling so that they were on eye-level.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Choose Darcy," he whispered to Thor. "Take her and Jane to safety, somewhere far away from here."

"And you would choose to die by him? You think this some noble plan?" he asked, scarcely believing what he was hearing.

"This isn't about being noble. I'm simply doing what was supposed to be done a long time ago."

"Don't talk madness!" cried out Thor, trying desperately to see if there was any familiar hint of mischief behind Loki's eyes that would tell him this was all a ruse.

"Would you rather she die for my actions?"

"There must be another way," he said softly as his mind screamed "No," over and over.

"It's best this way. You get to be the hero again, reunited with your beloved while Darcy is saved, and all you lost was the brother you were never meant to have."

Thor felt as if his heart was being devoured.

"You wear my time thin." growled Utand.

Thor stepped back, broken.

"Release Darcy," he said hollowly, staring at the ground.

The giant let go of her hair as Thor caught her, gently slinging her over his back.

Jane stared open-mouthed at Loki. He allowed himself to die instead of Darcy? He was about to commit an act of self-sacrifice just like Thor had done for him? Had she missed something about him during his time spent with her?

She walked up to him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was wrong about you."

Loki half-smiled. At least he was about to die with some rare luxury.

Jane wrapped her arms tightly as she could around Thor's waist as he began to swing Mjolnir.

The whole time his wounded gaze was on Loki. "I will return for you," he said as he, Jane and Darcy started to hover. "I promise I'll return!" And with that the three disappeared into the night.

Utand lifted Loki by the roots of his hair once more, forcing him to partially stand up. He stared at the giant, awaiting the first blow.

He could tell his captor was thoroughly amused witnessing the would-be destroyer of Jotunheim utterly defenseless.

A knife slashed across Loki's abdomen, causing him to keel over. A groan barely escaped his lips when the giant pulled his victim's head over to his and whispered, "He will come back to your corpse," before grabbing his massive hands around him and throwing him with all his might across the desert.

He landed with a sickening crunch, pain shooting through his every nerve as he struggled to stand up amidst his now broken bones.

So this is what honor feels like.

He was barely back on his feet when the giant delivered another devastating blow, this time to his face.

As he was knocked down, his vision blurred, his head throbbed and he could barely get up. Overwhelming pain coursed through his entire body.

He began to hear Darcy's voice saying he wanted to see if he was capable of doing one good deed.

His bloodied lips formed a smile despite the effort.

I wonder if she'll ever know how she got out alive tonight.

The beating continued until he was on his knees, staring up at the giant towering over him. He struggled just to open his eyes.

Just one more strike and it'll be done.

"Don't you dare," Utand snarled. "Don't you dare die before I'm through with you!"

As the giant was about to lift his fist for the death blow, Mjolnir shot through his chest.

The last thing he heard was a terrifying roar and the clash of metal.

As Thor walked over to retrieve the hammer, he spotted Loki, laying in a crumpled heap, motionless.

Thor instantly ran to him and knelt by his side, moving his arm to support his brother's back.

How could he have failed?

He could take down countless enemies, but he couldn't even save his own brother?

He turned Loki's body towards him. There was hardly a spot on him that wasn't bruised, cut, or bleeding. Scrapes and knife carvings etched his face, and a slender river of blood trickled from his mouth. Thor held him tightly, as if trying to absorb some of his damage. "Brother," he said through tears, "Why do you always make me worry about you?"

He held Loki's head close to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut in torment. He lifted his head up towards the sky and thought he would let out a howl of agony that would shake the very earth. Instead, all that came out was soft weeping.

"Forgive me," he whispered as he gently kissed his forehead.

Just then, a moan emerged.

Thor distanced his arms from Loki a bit.

"Whatever happened to you refusing to fight the jotun?" asked Loki, his voice a quivering rasp.

Thor's instinct was to squeeze him as close to him as he could, but refrained out of fear of crushing his brother's already damaged bones.

"I don't side with those who threaten the ones I care about."

"Darcy...is she safe?"

"Yes," he said, tears still falling from his cheeks. "Jane is with her. They're in a place of healing." He began to stand up and grabbed Loki by his underarms. "And now I have to heal you."

Thor brought him inside Jane's van, laying him on her bed. He began to hurriedly search her cabinets. "I didn't come with any healing stones, so I'll have to make do with a potion. It involves nettles, cinnamon, and-"

"Comfrey," said Loki. "How did you know about that?"

Thor smiled. "Because you taught it to me. I'd almost forgotten how, since I thought I'd never need use it."

He took the items he needed and made them into a poultice.

Loki stared at him in disbelief. He had always known Thor as the one to go out of his way to damage, never to repair.

"This might sting. Please believe when I say I don't intend for this."

He pressed the poultice to his side.

A loud gasp escaped from Loki's chest, his eyes widening. He turned to his side, clutching his arms tightly.

Thor could barely stand listening to his brother's whimpers of pain, or seeing the way his face winced. There had to be a way he could comfort him, to get his mind off the agony.

"Do you remember when you tried to convince me not to go to the out lands of Niflheim ?" he asked, trying to make it sound as casual as he could.

"Volstagg bet you wouldn't be able to retrieve the ice from there that would never melt, even next to fire," said Loki.

"You were so terrified that I'd hurt myself, and so you went with me and told me the herbs I'd needed in case anything happened to me if we became separated."

He struggled to smile. "If I remember correctly, I went with you because Volstagg bet his place at the Harvest Feast you'd lose, and I was determined to see the look of defeat on his face."

Thor grinned in spite of everything. "Yes...there were so many things I could have learned from you, but I was blind to them. I thought it was my duty to look after you, not the other way around."

"Everyone saw you as the strong one, the one that embodied every virtue of Asgard," said Loki. "And everyday I thought, 'what does that make me?'"

"Different strengths are not the same as weaknesses," said Thor, "I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure that out. What you did back there-you did a very brave thing. You-" he said, trying not to let his emotions overpower his speech, "You were brave. I should have come sooner, I-"

"No," said Loki softly. "You're not the one here who has to apologize."

They both sat in silence for a while, Thor watching Loki's wounds slowly heal.

"If I am truly the stronger of us, then if there was a way I could take your suffering for you, I would."

Loki shifted to lying on his back and stared at the ceiling.

"I wish I could still believe I belong with you in Asgard.," he said bitterly. "You have no idea how much I wish that."


	9. Equal

This is it, the second to last chapter! (Although the next one is more of an epilogue) Huge, huge thanks to everyone who followed this, reviewed it, and loved it. This took a while partly because I was tempted to take out the last bit of dialogue because I thought it was too cheesy, but then I thought there would have to be some readers who would find it squee-worthy, so this is dedicated to all you romantic fangirls.

The Puente Antiguo hospital was unlike any house of healing Loki had ever seen. The lighting here was so different from the candles he was used to; even Jane's laboratory had a more natural feeling to it. The architecture was entirely too monotone; nothing but white walls and gray floors. But of course, he wasn't here to admire his new surroundings.

He insisted Thor take him here to see Darcy despite his pleas that he should rest a bit longer. Thor reluctantly took him, knowing it was safer this way than to have his brother come here on his own.

They were both sitting in the hallway near Darcy's room; Thor dressed once more in the clothing of Donald Blake and Loki wearing the same suit and overcoat he had worn on his first visit to Midgard. He couldn't help but notice several of the healing staff giving Thor annoyed looks as they passed by.

Jane was currently visiting Darcy, or at least trying her best to communicate as Darcy was still unconscious.

"I got you this at the gift shop," said Jane, putting a vase of pink daisies on the drawer next to Darcy's bed. "I'm so sorry this happened...I shouldn't have blown up at you like that back in the van. I've been so stubborn to get my way lately it's like I never listened to anyone except myself. You're valuable, Darcy...not just as an intern, but in these past few days...as a friend." Jane paused and wiped her eyes. "And I swear I'll repeat this all to you as soon as you can wake up and hear me!" she said, with a weak laugh. As the moments passed, she let out a breath. "I don't know if you could hear back in the desert, but Loki did something there-something that I'm still trying to figure out why he did what he did..."

Back in the hallway, Loki spoke the first words since he had fully healed.

"You had no reason to come back to me."

Thor turned to him. "You're my brother. I don't need a reason."

"You know that's not true."

"It is. There are ties stronger than blood."

"And what of my blood? There was a time when jotun lives meant nothing more to you than battle achievements. If you were to ever find out what I was-well, you know what you wanted to do to them."

A harsh clarity crept over Thor.

"I see. You thought that the truth would make me think less of you."

"The demon you'd only put up with for diplomacy's sake."

And for the first time since his return, Loki saw the faintest hint of anger in his eyes. Not anger born of malevolence, but of hurt.

"That's what you think of me? That I would forget all those years we had together and suddenly hate you just because of one secret?"

"Do you really think that everything would stay the same if you knew?"

It was such a simple question, yet one that deserved a well-thought out answer. Thor struggled to find the right words that wouldn't come off as condescending. Finally, he let out a deep breath.

"Even if I was forbidden from seeing you as my brother, I still would have seen you as my friend."

"Stop," snapped Loki, his voice close to shaking. "Isn't there any hatred you have for me? Any lingering resentment for what I've done? Jane was right, I don't deserve your trust or forgiveness. I don't deserve any kindness from anyone."

"You didn't deserve to have the truth kept from you."

"And the truth I kept from you the last time we were here?" he asked, reminding him of the time he lied about Odin's death.

He was practically begging him to tear him down. He was waiting to be hit, screamed at, told he was worthless, a lost cause, anything but what followed.

"Any bitterness I had towards you disappeared the moment I saw you lose all hope in your eyes."

So that was why it pained him so much to see him fall. Even then, even now, there was still affection, as absurd as it seemed.

Something inside him cracked, and for an instant his composure fell.

"I only wanted to prove I was worthy of the name Odinson. Everything I tried so hard to earn was always given to you."

"There were times I was envious of you, as well."

Loki could scarcely believe what he heard.

"What could you possibly be envious of me for?" his voice was barely above a whisper.

"You could get out of trouble just by saying a few words. I was so stubborn, unwilling to budge, like a tree firmly rooted in the earth. But you could always adapt to whatever challenge was given to you. You were like water-taking so many forms, yet still able to go in any direction."

Loki held his hands up to his face, wishing they could hide him completely. "There are so many things I should have never had done to you."

He must think me so pathetic. Having to be rescued and now on the verge of weeping in front of him like a child.

He felt Thor's hand touch his shoulder. He turned his head.

"And they are all in the past. You've already admitted your guilt. You no longer have to hold on to it, let it decay you."

Thor noticed Loki's eyes glance over at Darcy's room.

"You love her," he said, the truth dawning on him.

Loki turned back to him, trying to hide his surprise. Was he really that obvious?

Thor smiled, relieved. "That is not something to be ashamed of, brother."

Loki's posture stiffened. "She doesn't know about my thoughts for her, and if she did it would terrify her."

"Why?"

"Because it terrifies me."

Jane walked out of Darcy's room and sat next to Thor, leaning by his side.

"In time you will learn that what you're feeling is strength, not weakness." said Thor gently, stretching his hand over Jane's.

Loki stood up, walking over to the room shaking his head.

"I didn't expect you to understand," he said behind them.

As he entered, the first thing he noticed was that Darcy was lying perfectly still.

Once again he was in a room with someone he cared about unconscious.

So many things had changed so quickly for him he could barely recognize the person he was just a few days ago.

"Why do all my plans get out of hand so quickly?" he asked with his head turned down. "I never meant for so many things to happen...when I fell, I had a lot of time to think about where I would be taken, what would happen to me. It was there I realized it wouldn't matter if everyone in Asgard thought me dead. I had nothing to go back to. Odin would have never even found me if it weren't for the fact my own kind left me to die. My mere existence was enough for them to shun me. And then I knew. Wherever I would go, I would always be a stranger, an outcast. I had no purpose. I felt like my only destiny was to wander aimlessly like a falling star." His hand moved across the bed and pushed away a stray lock of Darcy's hair from her forehead.

"But then just the other day when you told me that I had a choice...well, for the first time-I felt a validation. And when you saw my true form, you knew exactly what I was, and yet you didn't see me as a pawn to be used, or a monster to run away from...you only saw me. I thank you for that. No...I love you for that."

His hand stretched down to touch hers, but hesitated before retreating.

"I'm so cowardly...saying how I feel about you when you can't even hear me. But at least this way I won't suffer your rejection."

Just then Darcy's eyes fluttered open and she turned to him with surprise. "What rejection?"

The shock of seeing her awaken so suddenly caused Loki to nearly fall off his chair.

"What-how did you-"

"Get up so fast? I came to half an hour ago and pretended to still be out, just in case I'd be able to hear anything I wasn't supposed to. I was hoping to eavesdrop on some top secret stuff from SHIELD..." her cheeks turned a shade of pink. "But I never would have expected to hear that."

Loki's face grew hot.

"You mean you were listening this whole time?"

"Every word."

"And you just lay there as I confessed things I'd never tell another soul?"

What once was pink on her cheeks was now crimson. "Um...yeah."

Loki stared at the ceiling. The light from the glass above was nearly blinding, but it was still better to look at than the girl who no doubt must think him mad.

"The day a god makes a fool of himself in front of a mortal..."

"There wasn't anything foolish about what you did. You meant everything you said, didn't you?"

"Every word."

For a moment, everything went mute. Darcy could no longer hear the beeps of the machines next to her, or the claps of feet hitting the tiled floor outside her room. The only thing she could hear was the nervous breathing of the man in front of her.

She sat up in her bed and tilted his chin, forcing him to stare into her eyes. "Look at me." she said. "Why are you acting like this?"

He choked back a laugh. Just hours ago he had let himself be beaten almost to death by a jotun. Surely swallowing his pride would be less damaging?

"I love you, Darcy," his throat feeling like it was being twisted against its will. Lies were so comfortable, but the truth was excruciating. He looked down. "Yet I doubt you could ever return such feelings. There must be so many mortal men your age who aren't considered monsters who could you so much happier than I could-"

Then her lips pressed onto his. It was soft and short.

"You'd think I'd want to be with any of them? That they'd put their own lives down for mine? Jane told me what you did back there. Never do that again, ok? I couldn't take it if you died for me. These past few days with you made me realize you were the only one who spoke to me like I was an equal. And I know it doesn't make any sense considering who we are, but you're the closest thing I've had this whole time to an equal and-"

She never got to finish her sentence.

Loki bent his head down to hers and kissed her, all his yearning spilling out into one swift motion.

Darcy pulled away her mouth from his for an instant, then returned in full force.

With his free hand he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him, so that there was virtually no space between them.

As their lips separated, each could feel their heartbeats racing.

"I love you," said Darcy.

A realization struck Loki.

"This is just like one of your stories then, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"A sleeping maiden awakens to the love of a prince."

And then they kissed again.


End file.
